


Penelope Hosh and the Man from The Mirror

by Anonamystery



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adventure, Multi, Quests, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-07 03:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6783019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonamystery/pseuds/Anonamystery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the age of 15, Penelope Hosh is thrown into the world of demigods. Trouble is brewing beyond the safety of camp boarders, and Penelope is given a prophecy: Spill what is thicker than water, Peers will label them a rotter, Find an enemy you can't defeat, With things like bronze, mist, or heat, Olympus will change when two become one, Through ascension this quest will be done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Smells like a Road Trip!

"Are you sure you packed everything, Penelope? Money? Snacks? Underwear?" I lifted my head up from the car window and looked at my mother. My best friend, Kelsey Moore, had promised me a long and exciting day of summer camp fun, and I was trying to get a nap in so that I would be well rested and ready to play, but as the car ride went on it was clear I wouldn't be getting any sleep with my mother's constant questioning.

"Yes, ma'am," I responded, patting the two giant suitcases in the back seat. My mother was a sweet and simple lady, her wavy black hair usually in a messy low bun and her plain T-shirt and jean combo allowed her to blend in with every other mother in the world. However, at times like these I swore Mother was going out of her way to embarrass me in front of my friend. Kelsey, was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. The blonde looked up from the roadmap she held in her hands to smirk back at me. Kelsey enjoyed watching me get flustered almost as much as my mother enjoyed making me this way. I was glad my skin was just dark enough so that my blush wasn't visible.

It was the beginning of summer, and school was finally out. Kelsey invited me to come to an out of state summer camp with her. Being the only friend I made this year, I didn't want to turn her down. Accepting the invitation was easy, but getting the permission to go was hard. You see, even though my mother was so simple and sweet, she was also very strict and more paranoid than I was. I wasn't allowed to stay out late, or go to slumber parties because Mother was afraid that I'd get drugged, kidnapped, and sold into child slavery. That being said, asking for permission to go to a summer camp that was out of state and filled with unfamiliar teens was like, asking a teacher to round up your grade. I'd have to pull a lot of strings and do a lot of butt kissing. Finally after a month of cleaning the entire house every day, keeping the peace with my stepbrothers, and doing an entire presentation about why I should go, I reached the cusp of her agreeing to let me go. What tipped her over the edge was my stepfather, Jacob Hosh. Initially I was surprised her wanted to let me go because he had taken up the role of overprotective father, but then I realized the step brothers would also be going on a big road trip with their friends at that time, leaving Jacob and Mother alone for at least a month. Thinking about what could occur in that month made me want to gag, so I tried to focus on the activities I'd participate in.

"Do you have your cellphone?" Mother asked.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, doing my best not to show the look of displeasure on my face. My "cellphone", if one could even call it that, was a cheap go-phone that was wired so that I could only call home or 911. Mother claimed that I didn't need an iPhone or Android like all the other kids my age, which technically was true, but it didn't stop me from feeling a fresh wave of embarrassment every time I had to whip it out to call home.

"Ah, turn left up here," Kelsey directed. Mother did so. I grinned and tugged at the ends of my black gloves in excitement. We were getting closer and closer to the rendezvous point where I would meet another camper who would take us to the camp. This was my very first time going to any sort of summer camp, and being away from Mother for more than a week. An odd tingle made me glance up, and when I did my gold eyes met my mother's brown ones. She was watching me intently like an owl looking for any sort of danger. I felt my smile drop, and I stopped pulling at my gloves. Mother's attention turned back to the road.

_"Mind the rules,"_ I had said it in my mind, but with Mother's voice. I turned back to the window, watching as outside seemed to whip past our van. My rules were these.

1\. No inappropriate clothing or hairstyles

2\. Never talk back to those in authority and are above you

3\. No extracurricular events mother hasn't approved of

4\. No friends that mother hasn't approved of

5\. Never ever take your gloves off in public

There were other minor rules like not having a boyfriend before the age of 16, and don't agree to things you can't finish, but those five were the major ones that I had to follow for a long time. I never really asked why the rules were instated for the fear that it would break rule number two, but I expected it was because of the series odd occurrences that had started when I was 8.

For instance, at one of my old houses, I could have sworn I saw one of their new neighbors' silhouette through their window at night. They had a long, spiked tail and gnarly claws. Mother said I was just imagining it, but soon after a freak fire had started and almost burned our house down. The firefighters who came said it had started from over by that neighbor's yard. After that we moved to Georgia. But, that was just the beginning. Every time we moved, I kept seeing more and more things that I don't think I should have. Finally, we moved to Texas last year. Mother met Jacob and his two kids, and the rest is history.

"Hey, Pen!" Kelsey snapped her fingers in front of my face. I blinked back into the present, and realized the car had stopped.

"We're here," Kelsey chirped, bright blue eyes sparking. We were parked at a gas station. It was one of those stations that felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, and you just knew the bathrooms within was home to its fair share of roaches. And, to top it off it was also connected to a fast food restaurant. With the exception of a rusty pale blue truck with some kind of field equipment in the back, the vicinity was empty. Mother was looking around, for the person who was supposed to be our ride.  
"What did you say your friend looked like, Kelsey?" she asked, her eyes falling on a greasy man eating a burger who had just stepped out of the McDonalds. As he walked to his blue car, mustard dripped from the bottom of his burger, and landed on his green shirt. Upon noticing it he simply shrugged and continued eating. Mother grimaced. She was very into healthy eating and organic foods. Even candy had restrictions, which made Halloween a very sad time. Mother looked at me and I quickly made a look of disgust.  
"Ugh, all that greasy fast food. Doesn't he know it clogs your arteries," I moaned. Mother smiled proudly. She turned to Kelsey.  
"I'm a vegetarian," Kelsey said beaming, "I can't even begin to imagine those poor animals at the filthy factories just waiting to be slaughtered. Oh! I read this one article where..." And she was off. One of Kelsey's many talents was to put people to sleep with her long and drawn out stories. I spaced out again, waiting for the sound of her voice to stop.

"Oh! There he is!" Kelsey alerted, her story finally coming to a halt. She pointed outside the window to a bright red sports car that had just pulled up.

"Alright, let's go," Kelsey smiled. She opened the door and looked back at me. For some reason when we locked eyes I felt a little bit unsettled.

_"She did something, didn't she,"_ I thought to myself. It wasn't uncommon for the girl to play pranks on me, and I didn't see why she wouldn't play one now. Before I could say anything both she and my mother were out of the car and walking to the new arrival.

"Let's hope it's not too bad," I sighed, unbuckling my seatbelt. I hopped out the car, and folded my seat down in a way that I would be able to reach Kelsey and my suitcases. Kelsey's was stacked underneath mine, so I pulled on the handle of her suitcase to see if I could pull them both out at once. You know, killing two birds with one stone.

"Gnnrgh," I grunted, half despising my friend for ditching me to do the dirty work. The suitcases were heavy with the clothes and supplies we packed. I had managed to pull the suitcases to the edge of the seat when I heard a voice speak.

"Need help?" I yelped and jumped back, dropping both suitcases. The boy who had just appeared behind me, moved quickly and caught the bags.

"Whoa, these are heavy. A bit surprised you could lift them, "The boy joked. I laughed along nervously, and looked him up and down. I couldn't believe it. Rory Walsh, the hottest boy in my grade, was standing in front of me. Talking to me. I nervously started tugging on the ends of my gloves again.

_"It's okay. Just be cool,"_ I thought to myself. But cool, I was not.

"Uuuuh, yeah it was a stra-struggle," I stammered.

_"Dang it."_ I mentally slapped myself in the face. _"Rory isn't be our carpool by coincidence. Kelsey definitely planned this."_ But for some reason I couldn't stay mad. Rory is noticing me, and I was talking to him, something I wouldn't have been able to do myself if I tried. I gave a small smile. If Rory was beautiful at a distance, he was downright gorgeous up close. Rory had thick, choppy dark brown hair. He played a lot of sports for our school like football and track, which earned him a nice golden brown suntan over his well-toned body. A spray of freckles could be found on wherever skin was visible. To top it all off he had always wore dark eyeliner. I don't know why, but that made him ten times more attractive. Maybe it was because I listen to a lot of punk rock bands. Maybe it was because it highlighted his fixating brown eyes. Either way, the boy looked good. I did my best not to ogle as Rory easily lifted the two suitcases up and placed it on the ground before me.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"Not a problem," he said, looking down at me, "Hey! You go to our school?" I could have sworn my eyes were glistening.

_"Rory knew we went to school together?"_ All of those telepathic messages really did work. But now I had to pretend I don't stare at the back of his head for thirty minutes in study hall.

"Oh uh y-yeah. Jefferson's right? How'd you know?" I asked. Rory cracked a smile, and I tried to keep my heartbeat in check.

"Well you're wearing the school shirt." I felt my blood run cold, and my heart stopped. I slowly looked down to see that past my grey jacket, I was in fact wearing a dark blue t-shirt with our school's symbol on it. I smacked myself in the face with the palm of my hand.

"Oh my god," I groaned. I had managed to single handedly make a fool of myself to the cutest boy I knew. Rory chuckled which, although cute, amplified my embarrassment by fifty.

"Don't worry everybody forgets things," Rory said, patting me on the back.

"Haha. Yeah," I replied, trying not to feel insulted that Rory was treating me like a child despite the two of us being the same age.

"I will take these," Rory said, grabbing the suitcase handles, "and you can say goodbye to your mom."

"Yeah, okay," I said, following him around the car to where Mother and Kelsey were.

I scurried to my mother. I must have stepped too close to her because she took a step back.

"Uh well, goodbye mother," I said with a smile. She returned it, but her eyes made the look on her face unsettling. Her eyes were filled with worry.

_"Do you think I'm going to do something bad?"_ I wanted to ask, but I was afraid of her response.

"Goodbye, Penelope. Do behave and remember the rules," Mother said.

"I always do," I replied. Mother stepped forward, and for a brief moment I thought she was going to hug me. No such thing happened, and she walked past me to her silver van.

"Not even a goodbye hug, huh?" Kelsey said, walking up behind me.

"Um, yeah," I said, rubbing my arms. "She knows I'm not really a touchy feely person, so…" I trailed off at the end of the sentence. Kelsey looked at me as if she were trying to figure out something, and the key lies somewhere within my eyes. In the end she didn't find anything but awkwardness, and just shrugged.

"Well, you know what I've got to say to that?" She asked.

"What?"

"I call shotgun!" She shouted before bolting to the door of the passenger's side of Rory's car.

"Oh. My. God. Kels," I groaned. The sound of the car trunk slamming, signaled that Rory was ready to go as well. I shuffled to the door of the back seat, and crawled in, plopping down on the tan leather seats. His car smelled sweet, like strawberries, and when I looked to the air freshener that was hanging from the rearview mirror I saw that my nose was right. Rory pulled his door open and got in. He put his keys in the ignition and started the engine. Rory turned back to Kelsey and me.

"You ready to go?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah!" Kelsey and I cheered in unison.

"Then let's go!" Rory put the car into gear and began to drive towards the road. I looked out the window and watched as my mother drove in the opposite direction. As her silver van got smaller and smaller in the horizon, I did my best to ignore the shadowy figure that was running in my peripheral vision.


	2. What happens in a gas station bathroom stays in a gas station bathroom.

"So, Penelope, I've been meaning to ask..." Rory started. I couldn't tell if he was genuinely curious about something, or if he was trying to make me lose this staring contest with Kelsey. We were three minutes in, and it was getting intense.

"Go on," I said, keeping my eyes wide. With Kelsey's help of breaking the ice for the past hour, I found it a lot easier to talk to Rory now. After a few stories about the things he did at camp on a dare, Rory somehow appeared more like a regular guy than the gorgeous celebrity-like image I made for him in my head. It was nice, and gave me hope that he would be able to see me in the same way I saw him.

"What was up with your mom not hugging you?" I felt my face contort into a more awkward expression. My eyes were burning from having them open for so long. Kelsey didn't look like she was ready to quit anytime soon, and I knew I couldn't lie about my mom stiff-arming me while staring her dead in the eye. A puff of breath was all it took to make Kelsey blink.

"Ah! Cheater!" she shrieked, rubbing her eyes. I blinked so hard that when I opened my eyes again I had to wait for them to readjust.

"You saw that too, huh?" I said, getting ready to regurgitate the same lie I told Kelsey. Before I could respond, Kelsey blurted out, "Pen just doesn't like to be touched!" A fresh burn poured over my cheeks.

"Shut up!" I hissed, smacking her lightly on the arm, "You're making me sound weird!" She shrugged.

"I just calls 'em like I sees 'em." I glowered at her. Sometimes, I wondered why I put up with her ribbing, but I knew it was because I couldn't retaliate. It wasn't that I wasn't good at retaliating- Well, it was that, too, but more importantly it was because I was trained not to. From a very young age, Mother had always taught me to just let things happen. I found that she was right in most situations. When you act out or push back against people, they tended to become agitated and more violent with their attacks. But, Kelsey wasn't a bully. She had always been kind, and never actually hurt me with her teasing. Despite embarrassing me 9 out of 10 times we're in public, she made me feel like I was normal.

"Well, you're not getting any of the trail mix my mother packed," I countered. Kelsey was about to say something, but Rory interjected.

"One, no eating in my car. It smells fresh and I'd prefer it to stay that way. Two, trail mix? Seriously? That's not a snack. That's something you feed horses at the stable or squirrels in the forest." I gasped.

"You guys have horses too!?" I've only seen horses in books and videos. One of my friends in Georgia was obsessed with horses and would always tell me little facts about them, and stories about the horses on her grandparents ranch up in Oklahoma. I'd always been so amazed by the beasts in her tales, and now I might actually be able to see one in real life. Rory nodded.

"Yeah, something like that. Kelsey didn't fill you in?" He asked. Kelsey looked away, like the plains of dry grass outside the window suddenly got interesting.

"Kelsey," Rory said sternly, "What'd you tell her exactly?" Kelsey started rubbing her neck nervously.

"Er... Well, I did tell her...It's just, I didn't tell her...everything." Rory pinched the bridge of his nose. He raised an eyebrow and moved his gaze back to me.

"What'd she say?" Rory asked, voice lower than before. The hairs on the back of my neck raised.

"U-um," I stammered, taking a deep breath to try to compose myself, "Well she just said that camp was really fun. And you guys play cool games like capture the flag and there's have a lake for canoeing and stuff like that." Rory glared accusingly at my friend.

"Skimmed the top again, huh?" Kelsey smiled back apologetically.

"Well, I didn't want to scare her and her mom. Or trigger anything into coming after us," Kelsey said quickly. She glanced back at Rory, saw his expression, and promptly turned back to the window. I tilted my head in confusion.

_"Scare me? Coming after us?"_ I thought, starting to get worried, _"I wonder if maybe Mother was right about people waiting for the right opportunity to snatch me up."_ I started to think that I wasn't going to a super fun summer camp, and maybe I was being kidnapped by criminals instead. I stopped that train of thought immediately as it was stupid and didn't make sense. It'd be impossible since I'd known Kelsey for a whole year, but then again, a few years ago a boy was kidnapped and forced to help his abductor. From what I remember there was some kind of shootout between the boy and his kidnapper. The boy was freed, but kidnapper was never caught. Many think the boy shot him and his body was carried off to sea. Could Rory and Kelsey be working for an abductor? I pulled at my gloves again. I started to feel anxious, like any moment a hand with a rag of chloroform would grab me and smother me.

"My mom's a cop, you know," I blurted out. Rory looked to me.

"Ha, yeah I know. She threatened to get me sentence to life if even a hair on your head was hurt." The corner of my mouth twitched up. That was something my mom would say. Kelsey seemed to sense my uneasiness.

"Don't worry. Everything will be explained once we get to camp," she said.

"If you say so," I muttered. We continued to ride in silence for what felt like forever until Rory finally turned the radio on. It had been preset to the local rock station, so for the next hour we rode while listening to a bunch of bands ranging from my favorites to those who were vaguely familiar. When singing along in a tone-deaf harmony got boring, I suggested the we play the animal game, a game I created when I was in elementary school. There wasn't any cool rules or tricks to the game, you'd just take turns naming animals in alphabetic order until someone couldn't think of an animal with their letter or repeats an animal. We were on our third round, and Kelsey and Rory had just finished arguing over whether or not jackrabbit counted for 'J' when I saw a green rest stop sign fly past us.

"Uh, Rory, I need to use the restroom," I said, crossing my legs tightly for emphasis.

"Gotcha," Rory nodded, already turning to the exit point on the highway. "I've got to get some gas, too." He pulled up to a gas station much like the one he had picked us up from. This gas station, however, looked far less abandoned than the previous one. A few customers were filling up their tanks while others went into the station store no doubt to grab snacks or relieve themselves.

"Whoa McDonalds is everywhere!" Kelsey exclaimed.

"And water is wet," I shot back so quickly it even surprised me. Rory chuckled. Kelsey turned to me slowly and gave me a nasty look.

"Okay, Pen. I'll remember that," She said nodding.

"Oops," I laughed nervously, dreading the pranks Kelsey was no doubt coming up with now. Rory took the keys out of the ignition and opened his door.

"Get out and stretch your legs," he ordered, "If you have to use the restroom, go now because we won't be stopping for a long time."

"Okay, Dad," Kelsey mocked, sticking her tongue out teasingly to Rory. I laughed at Rory's scrunched up face until I realized I was a few seconds from peeing my pants.

"I have to go," I muttered before quickly running into the gas station. I looked down the aisles of snacks and drinks for any signs of the bathroom. Then, I caught a glimpse of a sign hanging from the ceiling. I moved closer to see it better. It was a little difficult to read due to my dyslexia but I knew it led to the bathroom because of the two pictures on the sides. The bathroom was exactly what I expected. It wasn't dirty, but it definitely wasn't clean. A faint stench hung in the air, and water was all over the cream colored counter and gray tiled floors floor. At least, I hoped it was water. I made my trip quick, not wanting to stay in there for very long. As I washed my hands, I looked at myself in the mirror. Gold eyes reflected back at me. I knew I had an unusual eye color, and I used to want contacts to change them brown, but my mom said that contacts were too expensive and came with too many risks of me hurting my eyes. Jacob said they looked cool, which they were. They work awesome when I was give someone a death glare from afar or puppy dog eyes. Also they looked nice against my skin which was the shade of coffee if you poured vanilla cream in it. My eyes also stood out against my dark wavy hair. My hair texture was much different from many of the black girls who went to my school. Their hair was naturally springy and easily formed cute little afros and curls. Mine on the other hand was a long partially wavy mess that I had to frequently brush in the morning and at night. Mother said that these traits came from my father, a man who walked out on us before I could even remember him. She said he was killed by a group of gang members who would squat around the neighborhood we lived in when I was young. It was clear she resented him, and sometimes when I would catch her watching me in a certain way, I wondered if she felt the same way about me. I've tried to please her, to make her proud of me, but I'm not sure if what I'm doing is enough, and I don't know when it will be enough. I frowned and raised my hands to my face.

"The Devil's hands," I whispered, gold eyes wide and ominous.

The loud creak of the bathroom door made me jump. A young woman walked in. I cleared my throat, and quickly pretended I was not staring at myself in the mirror, which was stupid because that was what mirrors were for. I waved my hand over the automatic paper towel dispenser, but no paper came out. I looked into the transparent box to see if maybe there was a paper jam. It was empty. I sighed and held my hands over the sink, letting the water drip off. I glanced at the woman who just walked in. She was tall with pitch black hair that was piled on top of her head. She had sharp cheekbones and thin black eyebrows that looked almost like they were drawn in. Her eyes were a bright green which matched her shimmering green dress. A tannish orange snake skin belt hung around her waist. She looked like she was ready to go to a fancy dinner party, not a gas station bathroom. When she saw me, she watched me for a while. I looked around trying not to take notice, but her eyes seemed to burn into me the longer she stared. I could have sworn I saw her lick her lips, and I immediately wanted to leave, not caring about my wet hands. Unfortunately, she was standing in front of the door, so I put on my polite face and asked,

"Can I help you?"

"Maybe you can," she said her voice was soft and nurturing, like a mothers, yet cold. My skin prickled and my smile faded into a grimace. She smiled back at me, her lips stretched and curled back revealing long, sharp snake fangs instead of teeth. I began to panic as she swayed towards me. I clenched my fists, bottled up all my courage, and quickly ran towards her. I ducked at the last second, maneuvered just out of her grasp, and running out of the bathroom, not stopping until I reached the car outside. I was in such a hurry I forgot my gloves on the bathroom counter. I pulled the door of the passenger's side open and leaped in, not caring about Kelsey protesting beneath me. I fell to the backseat with a hard "thud". Kelsey and Rory, who had been arguing over who knows what stopped what they were doing and looked at me.

"We have to go," I hissed through bared teeth, trying not to raise alarm. I kept an eye on the gas station's front door.

"Why?" Rory asked. Kelsey looked around. She must have seen what I had seen because her eyes went wide like mine.

"Monster," she said. Rory looked to her, then back to me. He reached in his pocket, but Kelsey grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"There are too many people."

"Why are we still here!?" I said, yelling now. There was no time to just sit here and wait until Fangs came for us.

"Sit back and put your seatbelt on," Rory ordered. I strapped myself in just as the woman from earlier pushed the gas station door open.

"GO! GO!" I screamed. Rory hit the gas pedal, and I was thrown back as we sped off.


	3. TMI spells out Danger

Rory slowed back down once we had merged back onto the highway. After a few miles Rory spoke up.

"What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"I don't know," I said, still shaking, "I-I thought I saw something. She-she had fangs." I pressed my hands against my eyes so hard pink and white spots appeared in my vision. Now realizing I had forgotten my gloves a fresh wave of panic washed over me.

"Crap," I said under my breath.

_"_ _You've broken the most important rule."_ I could practically hear my mother's disapproving voice. I started to feel a tightness in my chest at the thought of Mother being disappointed. I quickly closed my eyes and leaned back against the car seat.

"I'll be fine," I told myself, trying to keep calm. I gently stroked the scar on the inside of my right hand with the thumb of my left hand. It was crazy how weird things like this always happened. I stared up at the ceiling, feeling bad for my mom and everyone else who had to put up with me. I probably looked like the boy who cried wolf, always yelling about things people say they can't see. I'm scaring everybody over what was probably just my jacked up mind playing tricks on me. My eyes began to sting, as my negative emotions filled my mind, like a dark cloud casted over an island. It took me a moment to realize that Kelsey was trying to talk to me. She had tapped my shoulder and I jolted back.

"Huh?" My voice was strained from my almost crying.

"I was asking what happened to your gloves. Are you okay? Your eyes are red." I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands, and cleared my throat before speaking again.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired," I said in a rehearsed voice. "I left my gloves in the bathroom."

"Do you want me to turn back so you can go get them?" Rory asked. I quickly shook my head.

"I'll be fine," I said confidently. But, that wasn't true. Nothing was fine when the Devil's hands were out.

"Why do you wear them anyway? It's summer which means in Texas it's super summer." I pursed my lips, unsure of whether or not to tell them the truth. I decided to lie. They treated me like I was normal now, and I wanted to keep things that way.

"I have poor circulation in my hands," I lied. It was my go to excuse for many people who've asked.

"Oh, okay then," Rory said. I sighed silently in relief.

"Seriously? I thought you had ugly hands or something," Kelsey jeered, an attempt to lighten the mood, "You'd never take them off, even when we dissected that frog in science class. Oh, I don't think I've ever told you that story, Rory. Okay so there we were with-" I cleared my throat loudly. Now wasn't the time to recall past events. I needed some answers. Kelsey seemed to understand. "Fine. Stories later."

"Earlier you said 'monster', Kelsey. Does that mean you see things, too?" Kelsey and Rory exchanged a glance. Kelsey rubbed the back of her neck again. I swear her neck must be raw from all that rubbing.

"Uh, Rory will explain." Rory shot her a dirty look but muttered 'fine'. His frown melted into a sneaky smirk. He opened the center console and retrieved a small zip up case. With one hand he opened it and inside were many CD's. He glanced down and pulled one out. He put it into the CD player, zipped the bag back up, put it back in the center console. He pressed play. Once again there was a short awkward silence before the sound of static filled the car. It died down and there was the muffled sound of someone tapping on something.

"It's on? Good." It was Rory's voice.

"Hi, my name is Rory Walsh and today I will be answering many of the questions you may have. I know you may be wondering, 'how do you know what questions I'm going to ask?'. Well that's simple. It's most likely that the person responsible for taking you to camp and answering any questions you may have is Kelsey who is practically a lazy freeloader who like to ramble a lot."

"Hey!" Kelsey exclaimed. I snickered.

"You do ramble," I agreed. Kelsey pouted and opened her mouth, but was quickly shushed by Rory. He looked like he was concentrating really hard on the traffic ahead.

"I'm sure you have all heard of Greek mythology, right?" The tape asked

I don't know why but I said, "Right" aloud. Kelsey laughed and I sheepishly looked away.

"Well, I'm sure you also know a lot about Greek gods and goddesses, too, right?" I made sure not to respond this time. "Well they are all real. Every single one, and so are all of the stories. They may have happened a long time ago, but they happened. And guess what? One of the gods are your mom or dad, depending on who your mortal parent is."

"What!" I yelled in disbelief.

"Shhh!" Rory shushed. I didn't get quiet.

"My mom's a police officer, and my stepdad is some sort of school counselor. There's nothing really 'godly' about either of them."

"He means your biological dad," Kelsey clarified.

"What are you talking about? My dad was just another deadbeat who left his pregnant girlfriend and child behind. He was killed by a group of gang members, and last time I checked gods are immortal or whatever." Rory sighed and hit the fast forward button. When he pressed play the recording said,

"If you are one of those people who believe your parent is dead, I assure you, they aren't. You see the gods are very busy and cannot stay with their mortal lovers or children. In fact, it's be surprising if you'd ever meet your godly parent. Each of them have made a pact with one another not to interfere in the lives of their demigod children. But, do not fret. Your parent may still love you and will show you by claiming you by the time you turn thirteen." My throat went dry. I tried to swallow but when I did I felt as if a lump was caught in my throat. I was almost sixteen. Did this mean that my real dad, who had been secretly alive for the past fifteen years, didn't love me? My eyes started to burn again. I focused on the recording, not wanting to cry in front of the others.

"And that brings us to our next topic. The Mist." My eyes got watery, and I found it hard to focus on the tapes while I tried to suck tears back in through my tear ducts. From what I did hear though, the Mist was some sort of invisible force that made normal people see things differently from what is actually happening. All demigods, which is what I am now I guess, can see through it and some mortals can as well. I deduced that none of my family could due to my mother's dismissal of every strange thing that had occurred before.

"Now that you have been given a chance to let this information sink in, I'm sure you're thinking 'wow, I'm a freak. I'll never make any friends'. Well that's not true. You can still live a normal-ish human life as long as you're careful, train hard, and watch out for monsters. And even if you don't make any normal friends, I'm sure you will make good friends at Camp Halfblood. Everyone there has gone through the same things as you. Whether it'd be being kicked out of multiple school, never truly fitting in, or having ADHD and dyslexia, I can assure you, you aren't the only one out there. And even if by some odd chance you don't make any friends at Camp Halfblood I'll be your friend un-"

"Don't do it he's an addict!" a second unrecognizable voice cut in.

"Shut up, Anzu!" recording voice Rory yelled. Rory quickly punched the fast forward button and the disc player whirred. He had a tight grip on the steering wheel and looked quite guilty. He pressed play again.

"Grab his stash! Run, Lit!" There was a grunt and the sound of the microphone hitting the ground. Rory once again fast forwarded the disk.

"I told them to take this part out," he grunted.

"You sounded like you had a real problem there, Rory," Kelsey said smugly.

"Shut it, Blondie," Rory growled. The disk player clicked, signaling the end of the tape. "Sounds like the end. You can do the rest." Kelsey nodded and turned back to me.

"Any questions?" She asked. I had a ton but they were all spinning around in a huge disorganized mess in my head. I picked out a few I thought were most important.

"So, when I see things can you guys see them too? And what are they?"

"Yes and monsters. If you knew what you were or what potential you had they'd all flock to you in a heartbeat and kill you. And now that we've told you, it's probably like a flare light was sent out and more monsters can probably sense you now."

"Why did you tell me then!? Now I'm in more danger!?" I shrieked. Rory held a hand to his right ear.

"Volume down. Geez," Rory grunted, "We told you because we knew more would have come anyways. The older you get the stronger your scent is. It's not something you can simply cover up by hiding the truth." I was about to ask him what was he talking about, but Rory continued to speak.

"It's happened to everyone at camp. Everyone has been chased by monsters and eventually, with help, ended up at Camp Halfblood."

"Halfblood?"

"Yes, it's another term for demigod. That's what you are. And that's what I am."

"Who's your parent?"

"Ares."

"Ares? Who's that?" He looked at me through the rear view mirror like I was crazy.

"Ares. The god of war. The most badass god of them all."

"Oh," I said, still not entirely understanding, but not wanting to sound stupid, "What about Kelsey? Is she a demigod?"

"Yep. Daughter of Tyche, the goddess of luck," Kelsey answered, "That's why you guys shouldn't worry about monster appearances. I'm your lucky charm."

"And yet we've already run into one so far," Rory exhaled.

"That… Doesn't count."

"Sure it doesn't," Rory said rolling his eyes. He shifted in his seat, sitting more upright. It was getting late which made it even more dangerous to be on the road.

"Do we get any cool powers like the gods in the movies? Like if Zeus was my dad could I send lightning bolts from my eyes?" Kelsey made a face.

"Yes and no. Yes, some of us do possess a few unique abilities that we got from our godly side, and no, it's highly unlikely you'd be the daughter of Zeus. And even when I met one she didn't seem like she could shoot lightning from her eyes. Although her death glare..." Kelsey's voiced trailed off. She looked like she was thinking back on something, so I went back to talking with Rory.

"So if it can't be Zeus then who else could it be? All I know is that there is Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Poseidon, Artemis, and Hades."

"That's all the gods and goddesses you know? You knew Hera, but not Ares?" Rory asked in a disappointed tone.

"Pretty much. I know there's a love goddess but I forgot her name. Why? Are there more?"

"Tons more, and I don't think I can explain all of them without overwhelming you." He paused looking out the window. We passed a few signs that I tried to read, but we were moving too fast and the letters were too jumbled.

"Hey, there's a bookstore at the exit up ahead. Maybe they will have some books on Greek mythology you could read. I'd hate for you to show up at camp without knowing anything. "

"That'd be pretty convenient," I said. But, with my experiences I knew convenient meant something bad was likely to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.


	4. Someone call PETA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I've been told this is where my writing starts to change. I guess that kind of makes sense since the previous chapters were introductions and such. What do y'all think?

Rory turned and got off the highway. He made a few wrong turns and misread a few signs, but eventually we made it to the bookstore. There was a bright white sign over the door.

"Read-a lot-Rick's," Kelsey read. Rory parked the car.

"I'll be right back." He took out the keys, closed the door and locked it. The sun was going down in the sky turning it purple with fluffy pink clouds. It looked like a kindergartener had scribbled in a coloring book, not caring about accuracy, but instead on which colors looked prettiest. But, all in all it was very beautiful. Kelsey reclined her chair back so far we were practically face to face. She looked seriously worn out even though she hadn't done much except answer questions and tell stories.

"I was up all night yesterday. I was so excited you'd be coming to camp with me." She smiled her goofy grin, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, I'm glad I'm going with you guys," I said. Kelsey yawned and closed her eyes.

"Night- night," she mumbled. I laughed.

"G'nite." And with that Kelsey was out cold. I leaned against the car door and listened to her murmur in her sleep. I tried to go to sleep, too, but couldn't. I was still thinking about who my dad could be. I was both happy he was alive and sad that he hadn't "claimed" me yet. Did he not care? Was he really too busy for me? I mean, I'm his kid right. Certainly he's got time to go 'hey that's my kid'. It didn't have to be big. Even a little note saying 'Hi. I, _, am your father' would have sufficed. But, no. I guess I wasn't good enough. I pouted a little. I started to think of how little I knew about Greek gods and goddesses. Pretty much all of my knowledge came from that one Hercules movie that I haven't seen in years, and the few stories Kelsey had told me at our lunch table. Now, I was starting to regret not listening to all of them. I thought back on the movie and of all of the glowing people who were the gods, with their cloud palace in the sky. I wondered if any of them actually looked like that in real life. I could be any one of their children. I thought of Hades and his blue fire hair. What if I was his daughter? What if I was the daughter of a bad guy? Would that make me a bad guy, too? I shook my head. No, I'd just have to do what all of good guys did. Stand up to my parent and tell them I'd stop them.

_"_ _Pfft. Who am I kidding? I can't stand up to anybody,"_ I thought to myself, _"_ _That's rule number 2."_ I could only hope my dad wasn't some sort of manipulative sociopath. Gold eyes and black hair. Those were the features I had inherited, and those were the features he would have.

I looked to the store. I saw Rory through the glass door, leaning against the counter, chatting with the woman behind it. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy every time he would give her a half smile or made her giggle. It felt like they were talking forever.

"Hurry up," I grumbled throwing my head into the back of Rory's seat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure move in the shadows. I sat up, hardening my gaze. Not only was it hard to see because it was nighttime, but also because the street light above us was out. As far as I could tell the moving thing was tall enough to reach my mid-thigh. It didn't move in a straight line but instead in a swerved motion. As the figure came into the dim light of the store I realized it was a dog. A bloodhound with big droopy eyes and long floppy ears wobbled into the light. A large black spot sat on its back, and its big black nose sniffed the ground in search for some unknown thing. The dog picked up its head and looked directly at me. Its red eyes were so bright I could have sworn they glowed. The dog barked, and bared its yellow teeth. Kelsey jolted forward from her sleep, eyes filled with alarm.

"Monster!" she cried. The dog howled, the echo of the call striking fear into my core. Even though my door was closed I could still hear its barks clearly. It had found its prey and now it was going in for the kill. The dog snarled and ran at the car. I screamed as it jumped at my window. There was a bang, and I scrambled back to the opposite side of the car. I could tell it had made a dent in Rory's car. The dog stood on its hind legs, black claws scratching against the window pane. Its beady eyes peered through the glass. They seemed to narrow at me. The dog dropped down, and disappeared from sight. Before I knew it, the dog was behind me at the other window. I yelped and Kelsey screamed.

"This isn't good," she cried.

"No duh!" I yelled angrily. Kelsey started opening Rory's glove compartment and center console, urgently looking for something. Rory, who had noticed the hound attacking his car, rushed out the store with two books, and his wallet in hand. As he came close to the car the dog ran at him barking loudly. Rory raised his arms up, carefully circling around the dog, and back to the car. The dog lowered its head and snarling angrily at the boy. Rory was calm, despite being practically pinned against the car by the dog. Rory slowly placed the books on top of the car, opened his wallet, and pulled a small shiny rectangle out. It was a credit card.

_"Great. What's he going to do bribe it with money?"_

"Get in the car!" I shouted, scared I was going to have to watch my new friend get mauled to death. But, instead of getting in the car, where it was safe and we could just drive away, Rory turned around and winked.

_"_ _What the-?"_ Before I could finish the thought, I saw the card began to change and shift in his hand. Rory flipped it, and as it twirled upwards the card grew larger and thicker. Once it had reach the peak of its height, the new object's momentum slowed. I saw what was once a credit card was now a large bronze shield. Upon seeing Rory's sudden movement, the dog took the offensive. The hound launched itself at Rory, fangs out. The new weight of Rory's shield brought it down just in time for him to grab the shield, and block the attack. But the bloodhound was as heavy as it was strong. When it hit Rory's shield it knocked him back into the car.

"Rory!" I shouted, tension rising. The dog snarled and scratched at the shield, its teeth coming inches from Rory's face. I looked back at Kelsey, who seemed just as scared as me. "What do we do?" Kelsey swallowed, and gave me an anxious smile.

"It'll be okay. Rory knows what he's doing," Kelsey said, a poor attempt at reassurance. I looked back to the fight. Rory grunted, and using all of his body weight, he shoved the dog back with his shield. The dog quickly regained its balance and Rory took a defensive stance. I noticed that at some point Rory had pulled a knife out, and was gripping it tightly. With a shield in one hand, a dagger in the other, and a look of determination on his face, Rory looked like an entirely different person. With new weapons at Rory's disposal, the murder hound behaved more cautiously. It was strange. I knew that despite their name, bloodhounds were gentle creatures that were used to sniff out drugs or follow a scent. They weren't vicious attack dogs like this one. I doubt other dogs had the same look of calculating murderous intent in their eyes either. The dog paced, looking for the perfect place to strike. Rory, however, was less patient.

"Come on!" Rory roared, his voice almost as clear as the dog's. He struck his dagger against his shield, trying to goad the dog into attacking. The clanging noise rang out, irritating the blood hounds sensitive ears. The dog whined, shaking its head. Rory's tactic worked. The dog rushed at Rory. Rory held his shield up. The dog jumped as high as it could. Unfortunately for it, that rash decision was all it took for the tables to turn in Rory's favor. Rory twisted his body and smacked his shield into the flying dog so hard the dog shot back five feet. The dog smacked against the ground and skidded backward. The dog tried to stand up, but Rory was on it in seconds. He pinned the dog down with all his weight so it couldn't get up. My vision started to get hazy. I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to get them to refocus, but my attempts were futile. Warped circles filled my vision and merged at one point. The dog's heaving chest. The world took on a washed out effect, the color draining away. But, that didn't matter. My focus was on the creature's vulnerable vital point. I watched as Rory flipped his dagger downward to get a better grip on the handle, and plunged it into the beast's chest. The dog whined, unable to move from its pinned position, its death inevitable. In a final attempt of retaliation, the dog snapped onto Rory's dagger arm. It bit down as hard as it could, but Rory wasn't fazed. Rory twisted the dagger into the beast's chest, and with one final whimper it died. Rory pulled the dog's jaw from his arm and stood. As he walked back to the car I watched as the dog's corpse shimmered, and turned into a large pile of dust. The wind must have picked up because the dust disappeared like the distortion in my vision. Rory flipped his shield up, and when it came back down, it returned to a credit card. He slid his dagger back into a sheath and slipped it into the waistband of his pants. Kelsey sat back, gripping her chest. Had it not been for her heavy breathing I would have thought she died of a heart attack. The woman from behind the counter in the store looked at us in both alarm and confusion.

_"_ _What did she see? Does she think Rory just killed some stray?"_ Rory grabbed the door handle to get in, but when he pulled, the door jammed. The dog must have done a lot more damage than I had thought. Rory gave the door a few more frustrated jerks, but it barely budged. Rory hung his head and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He must have let out a very long sigh, because when he looked up he took a huge breath. Rory slammed his right foot against my car door, and pulled his with all his might. The door finally popped open, swinging all the way back, and making Rory rebalance himself. Rory grabbed the books, climbed in the car, and slammed the door shut. He jammed his wallet in his pocket, anger apparent. He looked to the back where I was sitting and groaned. He pounded his fists against the steering wheel.

"He even cracked my window. Do you even know how much that costs!?" He whipped around to Kelsey, glaring at the blonde, "What was all that talk about being good luck and not worrying about monsters?"

"I was asleep!" Kelsey retorted. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"With Penelope in the car? What if that thing had gotten in?"

"I would have handled it!"

"Yeah, right. You barely did anything just now," He said angrily.

"I couldn't find my sword!"

"And whose fault is that? You probably packed it away in the trunk with everything else!"

"Guys! Guys! Don't fight! Please," I pleaded. It was bad enough some demon dog just tried to kill us, I didn't need my friends to go at each other throats, too. Kelsey just clicked her teeth and turned away from Rory. Rory took a deep breath and rested his head against the steering wheel, trying to calm down from all of the adrenaline pumping through him. He opened the center console and reached in. I heard the crinkle of plastic, and Rory pulled out three suckers. He tossed one to me, which I caught, and one to Kelsey, which bounced off the side of her face. She glared back at him, but took the candy. I put my sucker in my pocket to save it for later.

"Would you mind telling me what that was?" I asked, as Rory tore his wrapper off with his teeth. He popped the candy in his mouth, and pushed it to the side of his mouth.

"Laelaps. The dog who is destined to always catch her prey," Rory said, his voice softer than before.

Kelsey pointed to the woman in the store, "I think your little girlfriend is calling the cops." Rory looked up to see that the woman who he was talking to before was in fact on the phone now, staring directly at us.

"We need to get to camp, quickly," Rory said, pulled out of the parking space.

"No duh," Kelsey mumbled. She sounded hurt, and I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know how. I decided to just leave her alone for now. I turned around, not believing what just happened. I had a ton of questions, and wasted no time dumping them on the only one who didn't look too peeved to answer them.

"Rory, how did you do that back there? And how did your credit card turn into a shield? And why did the dog turn to dust? Why are we its prey?" Rory exhaled loudly, the long and winded exhale that would have made you think a part of his soul flew out with his breath.

"Look, Pen. It's getting late, why don't you get some rest. I'll explain more tomorrow," he said, unable to keep the exhaustion from his voice.

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise," Rory replied, sincerity blending in with the fatigue. I smiled. "Oh, and here's your books." Rory pushed the books towards me.

"Oh! Thank you. What do I owe you?" I asked fishing out my wallet from my pocket.

"Hmm? You don't have to pay me. Just return the books when you're done."

"Oh, okay." I smiled at his generosity, and took the books from him. In the small amount of light, I had I read the titles. One was "Great Greek Myths for Kids" while the other was "Guide to Greek Mythology". I decided that it would be best if I waited until the sun came back up before I started reading. I had been scolded before for trying to read in the dark and was forced to eat carrots in everything for an entire month as punishment. Also, nearly dying left me feeling drained. I shifted my body in a way that I could lay across all of the seats comfortably, and closed my eyes. I didn't think I'd go to sleep so quickly because I still had tons of questions, but after a few seconds I was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No dogs were harmed in the making of this chapter.


	5. Remind me never to take risks again

My dreams started off at a quaint little candy farm. I was lying in the soft orange grass, eating the wool off a bunch of cotton candy sheep. It was a pleasant dream until the animals started getting anxious. I looked up, and saw that the sky had darkened. What was once a pastel green, became a deep grey. It kept getting darker and darker until the sky was as black as night. The candy sheep that were around me had disappeared, and the darkness from the sky bled down into my surroundings. Soon, I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face. I tried not to panic. Having dream switches like this was common for me, albeit a little strange. Suddenly, as if I was being moved, I was thrown into another scenario. I quickly recognized that I was in a hospital room. I tried to look around, but, like in the many dreams before, I was frozen in place. My eyes were stuck focusing on what was ahead of me. From what I could tell, this was one of the better dreams. One of the quieter ones. I was laying in a hospital bed surrounded by a series of beeping medical machines I didn't know the names of. I expected the room to be empty, but this dream had other plans. On either sides of my bed were two men. I couldn't see much of them from how I was situated, but from what I could see, the two were practically mirror images of each other. Both men were fairly muscular. They looked like they were carved from wood, the white, sleeveless robes revealing their strong, sculpted arms. Both had similar long swords strapped to their waist. A part of me wished I could have seen their faces, but I knew my dream wouldn't allow that. There were a few distinct differences between the two men. For example, the first man had longer hair than the second. I could see the ends of his ebony hair cascading off of his shoulders. The second's hair was not visible from the view I had, but I assumed it was black as well. The second man also seemed to lack the massive pair of black wings that the first had. I decided to mentally name them Wings and Wingless, respectively.

"Make this quick, I have a schedule to keep." Wings said, crossing his arms.

"Is that how you greet your brother? It's been so long since we've been able to meet like this," the wingless one replied. He turned to me, and I stiffened. Or, at least I did in my mind.

"The string of fate is getting short for this one," Wings said. He flicked his wrist, and an obsidian hourglass appeared at the foot of my bed. It was a beautiful timepiece, with intricate carvings within the stone. Grey-black sand began to pour down to the bottom glass. The wingless man made a sound of disdain.

"Your child will be arriving at the camp soon," Wingless stated.

"Which child is that?" Wings said, casually.

"Honestly, brother, how many children have you had in the past century?" Wingless sounded annoyed, and now he had his arms crossed over his chest. The two men were like mirror images of each other. Wings responded with silence.

"Like I thought," Wingless sighed, disappointedly.

"So what? Did you just called me here to tell me this?" Wings waves his hand again, and a black tablet appears in his hand. He lifts the device up to the other man, "At this rate many deaths will have to be delayed."

"It's always about work with you, isn't it?" Wingless asked, "I called you here to warn you. We all took an oath to claim our children before they reached the age of thirteen. Your daughter is nearly sixteen."

" _Daughter? Sixteen? Are they talking about me?"_ I tried to look up. I wanted, no, I _needed_ , to see them. My body wouldn't listen to me. I was stuck staring dead ahead, like I was watching a terribly shot recording.

"We also took an oath to stay out of our children's lives, but it seems that not everyone is able to keep their word," Wings said. Although he spoke with the same humdrum voice, Wings didn't take the accusing tone out of his voice. This time it was Wingless' turn to go silent. The only sound left in the room was the monitors beeping and the sand in the hourglass flowing to the bottom. The men didn't have much time left.

"You swore on the river of Styx, brother," Wingless said, his voice growing colder.

"I did," Wings muttered, "but, you and I both know the Fate of my children. If you don't mind I'd prefer to save myself the heartache that comes with it." It's quiet again, and the last of the sand falls to the bottom of the hourglass. What was once a steady staccato of beeping became a long drawn out ring. One of the monitors was flat lining. I could feel myself being pulled back, and the edges of my vision was growing dark. I tried to protest, but I was paralyzed. The darkness swallowed me, and erased the talking men. The darkness was colder then I remembered. I was grateful that I no longer had to look at the dead woman, but I was also freezing. I tried to curl up into my body heat, but I was still freezing. Still numb. It was empty here, and I felt like I was just floating in the darkness. Suddenly, I heard a soft, repetitive, takking noise. It began getting louder and louder until I woke up from my sleep, and realized the noise had come from the outside the car. A police officer was standing outside tapping the front window and shining a flashlight into the car. I looked behind him to see that Rory had parked on the side of a road in a grassy area, near a dark forest. I saw that there were some skid marks in the grass where the car wheels had tore up the grass. I noticed an empty cup of Starbucks in the cup holder. The digital clock on the dashboard blinked and read 3:56. I was able to put two and two together, and realized Rory had become too tired to drive. He parked on the side of the road, someone saw him swerve-park out here, and the cops were called on us. The policeman's knocks on the door more persistently. Rory groaned and shifted in his sleep. He was so cute, but he would get us all landed in jail if he did not wake up. I decided to shake him awake. I shook his shoulders and smacked him lightly in the face once. Unfortunately, I forgot I didn't have my gloves on, and it was too late to pull my hand back. When the Devil's hand made contact with Rory's skin, a shudder ran through him. Veins in his skin popped up and turned a dark grey. Rory's eyes flew wide open. His hands flew to his chest and he started to gasp, air refusing to come to his lungs. I quickly jerked my hand away, afraid and ashamed of what I had just done. Rory coughed, finally able to breathe. Sputtering, he looked back at me, and then to the officer who was getting dangerously close to breaking his window. Rory quickly rolled the window down.

"Sir, is there a specific reason you have parked your vehicle out here?" The cop asked.

"Uhm, I'm sorry officer," Rory said as he started to explain our situation, "We were traveling and I could feel myself getting tired so-"

"You look a bit on edge. Have you been drinking tonight, sir?" The officer asked. I thought it was a strange question since it didn't smell like alcohol in the car. Rory however, was still a little shaky from the attack, so maybe the cop chalked it up to being drunk.

"No, sir," Rory said using the same amount of respect as the officer. He had gotten his breathing under control, and tried not to look panicked. The officer shined his light on both Kelsey and me. I knew we looked very suspicious. Three teens in what used to be a really nice car, traveling at 3 in the morning. Rory also sensed this and put on an award winning smile.

"Sir, could you step out of the vehicle?" The cop said, untaxed by the boy. Rory's face fell briefly before he placed a new smile, which looked a little more like a sneer, on.

"Sure offic-"

"Woof!" A loud bark stopped Rory from reaching for the car door. I slowly turned and looked out the window. Bright red eyes creeped forward from the woods.

"It's b-back," Kelsey stammered, now awake. Laelaps had returned.

"How'd she reform so fast?" Rory gasped.

"THEY CAN COME BACK?!" I cried. "WHY DIDN'T YOU GUYS TELL ME?!"

"What's going on?" The police officer asked. No one answered him. The three of us just stared at the shadows where the beast would emerge. The dog appeared, it's eyes trained on Rory. It gnashed its fangs, ready to attack, but the police officer stood in its way. He had his gun pointed to the dog. With one good shot the cop should have been able to destroy the mutt and we could get away. Apparently, killing Laelaps couldn't be that easy.

"No!" Rory yelled. As soon as the cop drew his weapon, Rory became more anxious. Laelaps snapped again, fangs glistening with saliva. Not wanting to take any changes policeman shot it three times. But, the dog didn't go down and turn into a pile of dust like last time. The bullets went straight through it as if the dog was a ghost. My jaw dropped, and the cop stood there stunned. The dog saw that the bullets didn't hurt her, and continued her previous actions. As she stalked forward The police officer stumbled back still shooting. But it was useless. Laelaps was hungry for a kill and this officer would serve as her appetizer.

"She's going to kill him!" Kelsey shrieked.

"Not if I can help it!" Rory declared, his dagger already in hand. Rory grabbed the door handle and pushed, but the door locked. He tried again, but he was unable to get out.

"The darned thing is jammed!" He growled, now kicking at the door. The police officer seemed to trip on air and hit the ground. He had no way of defending himself.

" _He's probably not going to get up in time,"_ I thought, turning to Kelsey. She looked like she didn't know what to do either.

"My swords in the trunk," she stated. Why she didn't get her sword beforehand, I'll never know. What I do know is that Laelaps was now just a few feet away from the officer, closing in the frightened man. He was out of bullets and out of time. In some stupid relapse of dumb courage I told myself,

" _If my friends can't help him, I will."_ Without thinking I opened the at door on the right, furthest away from the fiasco in the making. I ran around the car, close enough so that Laelaps could see me, but far enough that I could get a head start on running away. I picked up a small rock from the dirt and threw it. Of course, it didn't actually hit the dog, as I have the aim of a snake playing baseball, but it grabbed the dog's attention.

"Hey! You dirty mutt!" I shouted, "come and get me." The dog turned, mouth frothing. That's when I realized, I'm out here expecting myself to outrun a dog bred for hunting, without any weapons.

"Penelope! What the hell are you doing?" I wanted to scream 'I don't know.' I wanted to call for help and jump back in the car. But I couldn't. If not me then someone else could get injured, so instead I yelled,

"Get to the trunk!" And I started running. I've been running away from things all my life. Whether it be bullies, confrontations, work. Now, I was running from a beast hell bent on tearing me apart. It was hard and I was scared, but I believed in my friends. Laelaps barked, and I quickly turned to throw Laelaps off. Zigzagging, I did my best to trick the dog. But Laelaps was used to catching larger more experienced game, and my tricks would not shake her. I only glanced back to see if Kelsey got her sword yet when I saw how close Laelaps was I poured on the speed. My lungs burned and I felt like my heart was going to explode. Then, she bit me. It was only a nip on the back of my leg, but it hurt. All of my confidence that I had previously melted away. I knew I couldn't last for much longer nor could I go any faster. As I pumped my arms trying to push myself farther, I realized I wasn't entirely defenseless. I had the Devil Hands, and with a bit of thought, I had a plan. It was a stupid plan, and if I messed up I could end up getting torn apart, but it was all I had. I pushed myself a little farther to give myself more space and turned on the dog. I had expected Laelaps to stop to see what I was going to do, but she was having none of that. The dog continued to charge and grabbed me by the pant leg. She pulled with so much force I was knocked off balance and smashed into the ground face first. Laelaps was relentless and continued to drag me as I kicked at her to let me go. I saw she was trying to drag me into the dark and creepy forest she had come from, and a new fear, the fear or the unknown, engulfed my mind. I couldn't let this happen. I threw myself forward and reached as far as I could to grab at Laelaps face. The dog did as expected, and snapped at my arm, letting my leg go. Luckily, I was quick enough not to lose any fingers, but I was still on the ground, out of breath, face to face with the beast. I remembered what Rory had done before. He goaded the creature into making a mistake, and my best chance was in doing the same. I shifted back into a crouch, balanced myself on my knees. I tried not to look scared but something in the back of my head told me I wasn't very successful. I clapped my hands loudly, and shouted,

"Come on!" The dog, seeing that I had no weapons, looked contempt. She looked at me like I would be an easy kill. Once again, she lowered her head, eyes glistening, and lunged for my face. I flinched, but still reached out to grab her. Being a bloodhound with tons of rolls of skin on her face, it wasn't too hard to grab Laelaps before she could reach me. Although I was able to catch the flying beast, I wasn't able to keep my balance and was knocked back to the ground again. I opened my eyes immediately, and felt the warm drool dripping from its mouth onto me. I shut my eyes again, the dogs breath impossibly hot on my skin. I tried not to think about the yellow fangs that were centimeters from my face but the thoughts continued to invade my mind relentlessly. My heart was beating so hard I thought it would leap from my chest. The dog barked loudly, and swung it's paws, trying to wriggle from my grasp. I locked my elbows, and pushed back against Laelaps' raw strength with all my might, but I knew I could only hold her back for so long. I opened my eyes. It was time for the Devil's Hands to work their magic. I dug my nails in Laelaps' fur, fingertips brushing her skin. The dog jerked back instantly. It's face was so close to mine I could see it reconsidering getting so close.

"Too late," I whispered, pulling my legs out from under me, and locking them around the dog's body. She couldn't move, and I tightening my grip on its skin. The dog whined, unable to escape once again. I couldn't see the veins turning black, but I could hear the pain in the dog's voice. It started to wheeze just as Rory had minutes earlier. The dog pushed at me trying to get away. My revision became blurry and I felt myself draining the life force from her. Her pushes were getting weaker, and I knew her body wasn't resisting. The dog's eyes pleaded for me to release it, but all I could think about was the fear and danger she had thrusted on my friends and me moments before. Laelaps body relaxed, a quiet whine escaping her closed muzzle. She took her last breath and her eyes closed. Just as her rad started to fall, a sword appeared in the side of her neck, piercing straight through to the other side. I watched in new horror as dust spilled from the wound. The dog fell to the grass and burst into a pile of dust. I sat up, a lot of dust had fell on me.

"Ugh," I groaned, sitting up.

"Pen are you okay?" Kelsey asked, running to me.

"W-was that you?" I asked, pointing to the sword sticking up from the middle of the dust pile.

"Of course," Kelsey replied, holding out her hand out for me, "I put a lot of luck into that throw."

"Good shot," I exhaled, taking the hand gratefully.

"It was nothing," Kelsey grinned. With a grunt she pulled me up. Rory raced to us, dagger and shield in hand.

"You're not hurt are you?" He asked, eyeing the pile of dust with the sword sticking out of it.

"No, just dirty," I said, doing my best not to worry them.

"You were amazing!" Kelsey gushed. "Were you scared?"

"Of course I was," I replied, "A giant hellhound was chasing after me. I thought I was done for."

"That wasn't a hellhound," Kelsey chuckled, "Hellhounds are a lot bigger and a lot deadlier." I felt a shiver run up my spine.

"Of course they are," I mumbled.

"Here comes the pig," Rory said alerting us that the policeman was approaching. As the man approached, Kelsey slipped her sword behind her back. I noticed that Rory and kelsey were smiling now, and I decided to do the same.

"What is going on here?" The police officer asked.

"Well officer it seems that the dog has died?" Kelsey stated bluntly, nodding to the pile of dust. The police officer raised an eyebrow at her.

"It didn't go down when I shot it," he said. Kelsey shrugs.

"Perhaps it was so hopped up on adrenaline that it couldn't feel the damage of your bullets until now," Kelsey suggested, "I once read this article about a man who had taken-" Rory clamped a hand over the blonde's mouth ending the story.

"Now isn't the time to tell a story, Kels. We need to get to camp," Rory said. He definitely wasn't in the mood to hear a story, too.

"You all don't have any relatives to stay with around here?" The officer asked. Rory shook his head.

"No, sir, but our destination isn't too far from here." The cop looked at Rory and squinted his eyes like he was trying really hard to see if there was any truth in the boy's statement. The police officer's dark eyes flicked to me. I smiled, trying to look sincere. The police man rubbed the back of his head, where I assumed he hit when he fell. He winced and shook his head.

"I suppose it's alright, then," he said. He sighed and looked back at the forest.

"You should get back on the road and avoid doing anything like this again." It didn't sound very cop-like, but I guess his brains were still a bit scrambled from the incident.

"Thank you, officer," Rory and I said in unison. We both exchanged a glance. Rory let go of Kelsey's mouth, and the three of us walked back to the car. I watched as Rory crawled clumsily through the passenger seat to get to the drivers snorted, and we both got in after Rory. He started the car, and pulled off from the scene. The cop car followed behind us, and turned at the first cross section. As we continued to drive, Kelsey decided to tell me the story Rory kept her from telling before. Apparently, there was an article about a man who took this new street drug. The effects of the drug made the man feel like he was invincible, mainly because the adrenaline in his body numbed all pain. It wasn't until he was shot in the chest, near his heart, that he went down.

"Strange," I commented.

"I know right," Kelsey yawned. It seemed that Kelsey did not notice that the dog was dead before she hit it.

" _It was dark,"_ I thought, " _perhaps she didn't see."_ Kelsey seemed more focused on getting back to sleep, and Rory was transfixed on what was ahead. My secret was safe. I could continue to pretend I was normal. I smiled to myself, and shut my eyes.

" _Maybe if I go to sleep I'll have a dream with my dad in it. Maybe I'll even see his face."_ Just as I was slipping into the familiar dreamstate, a voice woke me.

"Penelope." I opened my eyes and looked to Rory, the one who had spoken. His eyes were still on the road, but his face looked uncomfortable yet serious.

"Yes?" I asked, my heart started to beat a little quicker than before. He was going to ask me the question. I knew he was.

"I wanted to wait until Kelsey was asleep before I asked you this, so…"

" _Oh no,"_ I thought, dread filling the air.

"Penelope," Rory continued, "What's really wrong with your hands?"


	6. Hurts like team spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio has finally made it to camp! That's it.

“Um, w-what do you mean?” I asked, defaulting to the play dumb routine. No one was supposed to know about my power, yet somehow within 24 hours I have undone what Mother and I spent years hiding.

“You and I both know that Laelaps was dead before Kelsey’s sword touched her,” Rory replied. His voice was low, but not in a threatening way. I glanced up to the rearview mirror and saw that his brown eyes were staring back at me. “You didn’t have a weapon on you, and the dog died after you grabbed her. So, Penelope, was it your hands that killed the dog?” I pursed my lips, and quickly looked down. Rory knows. There was no doubt in my mind. If Mother found out, I would definitely be in trouble. I could practically feel mother’s harsh gaze falling on me, despite her being miles away. My fingers found their way to the scar on my palm. I needed to come up with something, some kind of excuse that would save me from the inevitable humiliation and isolation that would follow if someone like Rory were to find out about my powers. But, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find a good excuse for how I killed a demon dog with my bare hands.

 _“Actually, I don’t even know how to explain how the Devil’s hands work?”_ I frowned and clasped my hands together. _“I can’t just say, ‘it’s like the midas touch, but with pain and death instead of gold.”_ I didn’t want Rory to see me how I did, how mother did. I wanted him to think I was the kind girl he was introduced to before, not… whatever I actually was. Hopefully, he would accept being kept in the dark, even if it was for just a bit longer.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” I stammered, “I’m n-not supposed to say.” I cleared my throat, and continued to look down at my folded hands. I didn’t want to look at the disappointment on Rory’s face, and tried not to think of Mother’s dismay over someone finding out about my power.

“Hmmm… Okay,” Rory said nonchalantly.

“What?” I whispered, confused by the boy’s response. I wasn’t expecting him to drop the subject so quickly.

“I mean, you don’t want to talk about your powers, and that’s fine,” Rory replied, “I know plenty of kids at camp who are a bit shy and awkward when it comes to their powers. Heck, my half sister, Urvi, she still hasn’t gotten complete control of her powers. I find that it’s best not to pry, and let people open up at their own pace. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh...yeah,” I said. I couldn’t help, but smile.

“Yeah,” Rory chirped in agreement, “So far I’ve been able to curse people’s weapons. Like making arrows fly off course, making swords hot to the touch, and weakening metal.”

“Oh, uh, I guess that’d be pretty handy in a swordfight, huh?” I said, attempting to keep the small talk going.

“Of course. It pisses the other campers off, though. They call it cheating, but I think of it more like using my resources properly.” Rory chuckled, and I let out a small laugh.

“On a serious note, though, I ask about your powers because I want you to know camp is a place where it is safe to be yourself. You’ll be fine, and you know, if you want me to, I’ll find you some gloves to wear when we get there. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” I replied, having almost completely forgotten about the distress I felt before. I rested my head on the back of Rory’s chair again. “Thank you, Rory.”

“Not a problem,” Rory hummed back, “That’s what friends are for, right?” I glanced back at Kelsey.

 _“If she found out about the Devil’s hands, would she have acted so calmly?”_ I asked myself. I shut my eyes, giving the question some thought. When I opened them again, I smiled. _“Kelsey has been my best friend throughout this entire year. She has accepted me, and stuck by me despite my flaws. If I was going to tell anyone about the Devil’s hands, I’d want her to be the first to know.”_ I nodded and sat back against my chair. I looked out the window, and watched as the sun reemerged from the horizon.

Now having some reading light, I decided to picked up one of my books, and try to read. It'd be best to try to learn some things before we got to the camp. The greek myths for kids was pretty much a collection of dumbed down and censored greek myths. The guide on the other hand was more about describing the many different people and tragedies throughout mythology. There had even been one on Laelaps. She was supposedly a gift from Zeus, a hound who could catch whatever she was hunting. One day the hound was sent after the Tuemessian fox, a fox who could never be caught. Since they both contradicted themselves, and created a paradox, Zeus turned them into stone and then constellations.

 _“But if they were constellations how was Laelaps able to appear and attack us. Twice.”_ Thinking about it, I didn't get my answers from Rory earlier, and now was as good a time as any to ask him. I was about to ask Rory, but a sudden swerve and bump made me drop my book and grip the car seats for dear life. Through the rearview mirror I saw Rory's eyes slowly close and then snap open. The coffee was losing its effect, and the teen was falling asleep. Rory swerved again.

“Rory!” I yelled. His eyes snapped open again, and began darting about.

“The road!” I yelled pointing to the sidewalk we were about to drive into. Rory swore under his breath and quickly jerked the wheel to the left. We just barely missed hitting the cement, and were back to melding in with traffic. Rory and I sighed in relief.

“Sorry, I guess I started dozing off,” he said.

“Yeah, I noticed,” I said, placing a hand over my quick beating heart. I glanced at Kelsey who was still sleeping. She must be a heavy sleeper whenever monsters weren't around.

_“Speaking of which…”_

“How did Laelaps come back to life?” I asked, thinking questions would help him stay awake. He’d be more focus, and I’d get some of my questions answered. Rory yawned loudly, but kept his eyes open.

“Well, all monsters do,” Rory explained, “We kill them, and they turn to dust. Then, their souls are sent to Tartarus. You've read about that, right?” I nodded. Tartarus was a large pit in the underworld where the gods' enemies were held.

“Well, they slowly reform in there and return back to try to kill halfbloods. Although, Laelaps should not have reformed after only a few hours.” He paused and honked his horn at the car in front of us. “Maybe it was just her determination to catch her prey.”

“Why are we her prey?” I asked.

“Because we got away,” Rory replied, bluntly, “The mutts got a reputation to uphold.”

“Does that mean she’s going to come after us again?”

“If she has any sense she’ll drop it, and go hunt some ducks or something.” Rory sniffed and sat up.

“Hey, we’re almost there,” Rory said.  I relaxed a bit. I was glad we were getting closer to safety, and as long as Rory didn't kill us from falling asleep behind the wheel we should be home free.

“Do you need me to keep talking to you?” I asked.

“No, keep reading your book,” Rory said, opening a window. I huffed and picked up one of my books. Rory cut on the radio and Rihanna started to play in the background. I began to read a story about how Hades had gotten Persephone to stay in the underworld with him for half a year in the fall and winter. I had just read the part where she ate pomegranate seeds when I noticed the air above Kelsey's head was shifting. It looked like tiny particles in the air were moving together to form an image. I watched as the particles shimmered and flicked into a group of people sitting amongst a pile of rocks by a lake. My attention was drawn to the two teens in the front pushing at each other's faces. The first was a young black male with lavender eyes that seemed to twinkle in amusement. A mischievous smile was spread across his lips as he held the other camper away from him. Said camper was a small brunette girl with furious green eyes. Her olive skin was almost beet red with anger, and she looked very close to frothing from the mouth. She was swatting at the taller boy, fingers reaching for his face. The purple eyed boy had superior arm length, and was able to keep his face out of the girls reach. The last teen was a young brown girl who's jet black hair had been neatly pulled back into a bun. She sat on a large boulder with her legs crossed neatly. Dark, almost black colored eyes watched the others. She reminded me of a cat, observant and alert. Like the other three in the group, she wore an orange shirt with black letters reading Camp Halfblood. I also noticed that she wore a small woven necklace with a single bead. I looked to the others and saw they had beads too. The other girl had two beads while the boy had one. It was too hard to see the designs on the individual beads, but I'm sure I'll be able to check them out when I meet them.

“Rory!” The stoic girl called out. Immediately, the quarreling two stopped what they were doing and smiled at the magic screen. Rory looked startled for a moment but once he recognized who was talking he cut off the radio and grinned.

“Urvi, hey. I see you too, Anzu and Lit,” Rory replied, nodding to each of the teens respectively, “How’ve you guys been?”

“It'd be great if these two would stop bickering for once,” said the solemn girl, Urvi, rolling her pitch black eyes. As soon as the girl spoke, Kelsey's eyes opened. She didn't say anything. She just watched, and listened like me.

“Oh please, when has Anzu ever stopped picking fights?” Rory joked.

“Hey! The brunette shouted, green eyes glaring at Rory, “I wouldn't get into so many fights if you people weren't so infuriating.”

“Sure you wouldn't,” Rory said sarcastically. Anzu, looked like she wanted to tear Rory's head off. Lit leaned from left to right, violet eyes trying to see around Rory.

“You brought fresh meat?” The boy asked, playful grin still on. Before Rory could speak Urvi replied.

“I thought that was Kelsey's job,” she said an eyebrow raised. This was the first time anyone on the screen acknowledged Kelsey. The entire group was looking at her now, and Kelsey’s  usual cheery face was one more bitter.

“Oh, hey Kels,” the boy greeted, in hopes of lightening my friend’s mood. The others nodded and waved. Kelsey’s face relaxed slightly.

“Hello, and I _am_ doing my job Urvi,” Kelsey said stiffly. There was clearly some tension between the two. I didn’t want an argument to break out, so I decided to speak up. I did so just as Urvi opened her mouth.

“Um, hi.” I gave a small wave, “I’m Penelope. Penelope Hosh.” Urvi shut her mouth, and squinted at me. A small spike of anxiety welled up inside of my stomach as all eyes turned to me.

“Sup, I’m Anna Matias, but you can call me Anzu,” Anzu said. Her kindness made me feel slightly at ease. Anzu gestured to the lavender eyed boy she was fighting with before, “This here is Triston, but everyone just calls him Lit.”

“Lit?” I parroted, not understanding where you’d get Lit from Triston.

“Yeah, it’s a long story. Don’t ask,” the boy laughed.

“Um, okay,” I said, eyes moving to the last kid. “A-and you’re Urvi?” I asked, using process of elimination. The girl sighed loudly, as if the response would be too much effort to give.

“Urvi Pisal, and I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t look like much Miss Penelope,” the girl said bluntly.

“W-what?” I stuttered, thrown off by her statement.

“To put it simply, you don’t look like you’d make a good fighter,” Urvi restated. I frowned, “I can see your eyes look a little puffy. You’ve been crying, haven’t you?”

“No,” I said in defense. My voice sounded strained, and unconvincing. I didn’t respond. In that single moment I felt like any chances of me looking cool in front of these new people were dashed. I wiped at my cheeks furiously.

“Oi, Urvi, be nice,” Rory scolded sternly.

“It’s the truth. Crybaby’s don’t make good fighters,” Urvi huffed, “I bet she pissed herself when a monster came for her.”

“Actually, Pen single handedly faced down, Laelaps,” Kelsey said. Urvi looked slightly surprised, “You should have seen it.” Kelsey went on to recite the tale of how I face Laelaps a few hours ago. She had exaggerated many of the details, of course, but her tale was definitely earning me some cool points. I smiled, taking pride that my best friend had my back.

“Are you guys close bye?” Anzu asked, once Kelsey’s tale had ended.

“Yup, we should be there in forty five minutes,” Rory said with a nod.

“Seriously? How did you get here so fast?” He rubbed the back of his neck, like Kelsey would when she did something she knew would get her scolded.

“Well, let's just say I may or may not have used a few illegal shortcuts.” I shot Rory a look, but he just shrugged it off. “Pen’s going to need a tour when we get there.”

“We’ve got you covered!” Lit said excitedly.

“Perfect. I have to focus on the road, so I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye guys,” Kelsey waved.

“Uh, bye,” I said, smiling at the group. The group of teens waved back and bid farewell. Lit lifted his hand, and waved it through the across the screen on his side. As his hand moved through the image, the group disappeared from view.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Iris message,” Kelsey said, “With the help of the goddess Iris we can message people pretty much anywhere as long as we have a rainbow.”

“Iris... Iris,” I quickly scanned my book for the goddess.

“Goddess of rainbows. We've got plenty of her kids back at camp.”

“Were any of them Iris' kids?”

“Nah, but I’m sure you’ll run into a few in no time.”

“Then, who are their parents? Godly ones, I mean.” Kelsey started to tell me, but stopped. She  smiled.

“It’d be more fun if you find out on your own,” she giggled. I sighed, a little annoyed at the blonde’s antics, but I was used to them by now.

“Hey, aren't you supposed to turn up here?” Kelsey asked Rory,  pointing out the window.

“Oh, right,” Rory said, turning the steering wheel to the right,. “Pen, we're going to have to move pretty quickly. How fast can you move with your suitcases?”

“I guess I can run,” I said, “Why?”

“We’ll have to hurry through a clearing just outside the entrance, and monsters may come out.” I fidgeted, remembering Laelaps’ attack.

“I mean, I'll still protect you, but we’ll need to move quickly,” he said. I turned to Kelsey who was wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

“Stop,” I mouthed, giving her a stern look. She cracked a smile, and had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.

“You see that big tree over that hill?” Rory asked, nodding to the right. I looked and saw it, a lone tree standing on the opposite side of a large, grassy hill. As I peered closer I saw smoke coming up from near the tree.

“The tree's on fire!” I gasped.

“No, we have a... guard dragon.” Kelsey said.

“Yes, because that makes more sense,” I muttered sarcastically. Kelsey was about to retort, but Rory cut her off.

“No time,” He had parked the car outside a small garage, behind three large white vans. I peered at the closest one, and on the side it read “Delphi Strawberry Service”.

 _“Strawberries? But, I thought this was a summer camp.”_ A hand snapped in front of my face, breaking my concentration. It was Kelsey. She was now in the back seat, gesturing for me to get out of the car. Rory  was outside acting like a lookout. His brown eyes darted about, searching for any sign of danger.

“Let's go!” He shouted, pressing a button on his car keys. The trunk of the car opened with a dull pop. I quickly grabbed my books and got out after Kelsey. Rory pulled out the two suitcases we had brought, and a large dark blue duffel bag. On the side was our school mascot. A barracuda with it’s fanged jaw agape, the corner of its fish lips tilted in a smile. Rory tossed the bag over his shoulder, and distributed the suitcases to Kelsey and me. He looked around, checking the surroundings once more, and then took off running. Kelsey quickly followed with me running close behind. We rushed uphill, which wasn't easy with the heavy suitcases weighing us down. I stumbled a few times over hidden rocks that jutted up in the grass. It seemed like we were home free as we made it to the peak of the hill. That is, until I heard a loud caw. I looked up to see half a dozen birds with shiny beaks circling above us.

“Crap,” Rory hissed. He stopped running, and pulled out his dagger. I slowed down, and upon seeing the two of us were lagging, Kelsey stopped, too. Rory angrily swatted back at us. A signal of dismissal.

“Keep going until you get past the tree,” he said, no longer shouting. Although he was quieter now, it made me feel more tense. “You'll see farm house. Go in there.”

“I know the way,” Kelsey grumbled back, “Let’s go, Penelope.”

“But what about-” I started, but stopped when one of the birds snapped it’s wings open, and its feathers, no bigger than the blades of a scissor, zipped down and slashed at Rory. The feathers were as sharp as razors, and easily tore through his shirt and skin. Rory clicked his teeth, holding his now bleeding arm.

“So, that’s how we’re going to play this,” he said to the birds, as blood leaked through his fingers. I stiffened. There was something dangerous in boy’s voice. A tremble, but it wasn’t from fear. No. It was something else, something more… feral. It was as if Rory was trying to hold something back. An odd feeling seemed to pulsate from the boy. I felt myself become irritated, and angry. I wanted to reach up and grab the birds. Show them who was boss. Kelsey seemed to be feeling the same way because she drew her sword with a dangerous sneer on her face. I could feel my blood boil as I watched the birds circle faster and faster. I wanted to kill them. All of them. Make them regret ever messing with us. Rory looked back at us, and muttered something under his breath, Just like that the feeling was gone. Rory roughly shoved Kelsey and I towards the hill.

“I said to run,” he shouted. I felt the same pulse of fury I had felt before, but this time I ignored it. I had to focus on lugging my suitcase and myself to safety. I ran in the direction Rory had told me, Kelsey following close behind. We were heading downhill, and it was hard to navigate with the rocks and roots sticking out of the ground. I took a glance back at the birds to see a few had broken off from their group, and were heading towards us.

“Kelsey,” I warned. She glanced back, and her eyes widened.

“Down,” she shouted, grabbing me by the hood and pulling her sword out. The birds screamed and Kelsey stepped in front of me. I held my breath, fearing for the girl’s life. Kelsey, however, was holding her own. Kelsey now had her sword out, and with unnatural precision and speed, she cut each and every one of the feathers out of the air.

“How’d you do that?” I gasped, staring down at the metal weapons scattered about.

“Absolute Luck, my dear lady,” Kelsey beamed.

“No time!” Rory yelled. Kelsey rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the arm, which was luckily covered by my jacket sleeve. She pulled me forward, so that I was running ahead of both her and Rory. I glanced back to see Rory stop, and toss his shield up at the birds. They birds momentarily scattered, but two divebombed at Rory upon seeing him defenseless.

“Rory!” I shouted. The birds tore at his clothes with their talons and beaks.

“He’ll be fine,” Kelsey yelled, “Just get to the barnhouse.” Reluctantly, I looked away from the boy, but not before seeing him catch his shield, and smash it into the closest bird.

I heard a screech, and another slew of razor feathers hailed down. I screamed, ducking down, and using my only free hand to try to cover my head. I heard the sound of metal against metal, and a grunt from Kelsey as she tried to deflect more of the feathers. Her luck must have been wearing off because I felt a few of the feathers cut into my clothes. One feather, even got stuck in the sleeve of my jacket. I could feel the cold serrated edge of the feather rub against the back of my arm every time I moved it. Luckily, none of the feathers had torn through my skin, but I had started to panic. I couldn’t slow down, I was too afraid that if I did, one of these birds would get their opening to shoot me in a vital spot. As we continued to run a few of the birds began to divebomb us. Kelsey muttered curses under her breath, a sign that she was starting to panic as well. These birds were a lot quicker than Laelaps was, and because I had to watch where I was running in order to keep myself from falling, I couldn’t see where the birds would be coming from. One of the bird’s clipped the back of my arm, tearing open the sleeve of my jacket, right as Kelsey and I reached the bottom of the hill. There was a good stretch to go before we would get to the safety of the white house, and the birds were relentless. I shouted, and ducked my head down as one went for my hair. This time the bird managed to cut through my skin, and I felt the warm blood ooze down the back of my neck.

 _“At this rate I was going to be minced meat in minutes,”_ I thought, pumping my arms. I had been so distracted that I hadn't noticed an upturned tree root. I stumbled over it, and as I fell I reached out and grabbed a hold of Kelsey's shirt. The blonde yelped as we both fell down, crashing into the uneven, stone riddled grass. Kelsey groaned, and shifted beside me. I saw she had taken the brunt of the birds attacks, a series of cuts, including a large gash on her forehead, decorated her body. Like me, she was breathing hard from sprinting, but her eyes were shut for so long, I was afraid she passed out.

“Kelsey?” I choked, shaking the girl’s shoulder. Groggily, she opened her eyes.

“...’smy sword,” The girl slurred. I looked around for her sword, but couldn’t see it in our immediate proximity. I pushed myself off the ground, and tried to stand. My lungs felt like they were going to burst, and my arms and legs were exceedingly sore, not only from the rocky landing, but also from running briskly for an extended period of time.  I looked about, to see Kelsey’s sword had flown well out of arm’s reach. The familiar screech of the metal birds brought my attention upwards. Just as they had when we first started up the hill, the birds were circling us. Their beady eyes looked down at us as if trying to decide which one to pick off first. I glanced back down at Kelsey. She was struggling to get up, no doubt the cost of using so much of her luck, and suffering so many injuries.  The birds were too quick. They’d get to us before either could get to her sword. Kelsey must have sensed this as well because she grabbed me by the leg. I felt an unexpected burst of energy, and my entire body began to tingle.

“Run,” Kelsey panted.

“Not without you,” I added. Careful not to actually touch her skin, I attempted to lift Kelsey up. Alas, I was not very strong, and Kelsey was heavier than I expected. I carefully laid her back down, and briefly turned back to the birds. My only chance was to go for the sword. I gulped, but something within me told me I could do it. I took a deep breath, and bolted to the weapon. The birds squawked and swooped down. I launched myself forwards, reaching for the sword handle at the same time the bird’s talons reached for my face. I shut my eyes as I, once again, slid in the grass. My fingers brushed the handle of the sword right as the bird’s cries rang out in my ears.  Eyes still shut, I tensed up, waiting for their claws to dig into my skin and tear me apart. But that didn't happened.

There was a loud squawk and a thump. I slowly opened my eyes to see that one of the birds had been shot out of the sky, an arrow sticking out of its side. I blinked hard, unable to believe me eyes, and I saw another two go down. Then another. The last of their flock broke up their circular formation and flew off. I sat up and saw two teens holding bows pointed at the sky.It was Urvi and another girl with long, sunny blonde hair.

“You’ve got this, Sammy?” Urvi asked as she made her way to us. The other girl nodded, notching another bow.

“Are you okay?” Urvi asked extending her arm to help me up.

“We're fine. Thanks to you two.” I said getting up by myself. Urvi looked at her extended hand, then back at me, and back at her hand before putting it down. I smiled awkwardly, hoping she wasn’t upset I hadn’t taken her help. Urvi turned and jogged back to kelsey too help her up. Kelsey didn’t look happy about having to get Urvi’s help, but she still accepted it.

“Thanks, Urvi,” she mumbled, trying to keep balanced. Rory crashed in behind us, scratches all over his body and his shield. His sword had been put away, and in his hands were the body of two dead birds.

_“Gross.”_

“Hey, didn’t expect you to be apart of our welcome wagon,” he panted, doubling over from the run.

“You should get yourself checked before you start cracking jokes,” Urvi shot back, a small smirk pulling at her lips, “Come on. More of the Styphilian birds may come.”

I picked up my suitcase and Kelsey’s. Rory and I quickly followed Urvi and Kelsey, with Sammy trailing behind, bow at the ready. We made it to the barnhouse without anymore monster attacks. Urvi and Rory helped Kelsey up the front porch. Rory opened the front door, and Kelsey stumbled in with Urvi right behind her. The inside of the building was dark, and I couldn’t see any part of the other two girls after they stepped inside. I began to slow down, unsure of why they had suddenly disappeared, and wondering if this was the safe haven I was led to believe. A gentle hand on my back urged me to keep going. It was Sammy.

“Don’t slow down now. We’re almost at the border,” she said encouragingly.

“The border?” I repeated, looking at the black hole that was the building’s entrance. Sammy gave me a reassuring pat on the back, and I slowly ascended up the steps. Rory smiled gently as I appreached the door. He still had the nasty birds in his hands as he ushered me to the door. I frowned, but stepped forward. I shut my eyes and took a few steps into the darkness. It was just as warm inside as it was outside. I slowly shuffled forward, not wanting to run into any furniture accidentally. The floor felt very hard and uneven. I heard the sound of activity in the distance, including what sounded like the voices of children.

“Open your eyes, Pen,” Kelsey said, now right in front of me. I did as I was told, and saw that the reason the inside of the building felt like the outside was because I was still outdoors. Instead of standing inside a barnhouse, I was in a dirt pit, tons of kids who looked my age or younger were running around or talking to each other in the shade of large cabin buildings. I caught my breath and looked back to my friends who were calmly strolling back to me. The barnhouse had disappeared, and in its place was the back of a large stone archway. On the top of the arch was a wooden plaque that read ‘camp halfblood’. I must have been staring for awhile because Kelsey grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me roughly.

“Ah! Kelse stop!” I cried, very startled.

“Geez, what’s with you?” The girl sighed, “You’ve been a space cadet this whole trip.”

“Sorry,” I shrugged, giving her a wry smile, “I’m just taking everything in.” Kelsey grinned.

“Welcome to Camp, Penelope,” she said, “Come on, it’s time to meet the others.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please feel free to write a comment. It would be greatly appreciated.  
> -Anonamystery


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